Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

[Attention]

The end of this chapter hints at a slightly dark scene in the . Please take caution if you’re not good with such things.

Our group trudges up Black Shadow Mountain with Lian acting as our guide.

The path we’re taking hasn’t been cleared of wild shrubbery, so we clear the branches and ivy in our path ourselves, either pushing them to the sides or cutting them.

After a while, we hear several people calling out Mite’s name. We give chase in that direction.

Following the voices, we manage to find Cheddar-san’s search team, consisting of Cheddar-san, Gouda-san, and three other villagers. And without a hitch too.

Just like what Lian had told us before we set off.

For a moment, Cheddar-san’s team looks happy to see us, but their expressions once again darken in the next. We glance at Gouda-san, situated a little farther away from the rest of the group.

In Gouda-san’s hand is a thin, light blue ribbon, dirtied with soil. His eyes are red and swollen, like he just wept his eyes out.

That ribbon’s familiar… Ah.

That’s Mite’s favorite ribbon. She often uses it to tie her hair.

Though I don’t wish for my prediction to be true, I have no doubt that Mite has been taken to the depths of this mountain.

When Lian tells them he has an idea where the monsters are, the faces of Cheddar-san’s team slightly brighten, and they request to join our group.

Lian nods at Cheddar-san in response, relief washing over his features. Then he mutters, “With this, everyone has gathered.”

I’m probably the only one who heard this.

After all, I have sharper ears than the average person.

Although I’m happy that we managed to meet up with Cheddar-san’s team, something about the way Lian worded that statement feels strange to me. Out of reflex, I tilt my head down and look at him. He shakes his head with a smile, silently reassuring me that nothing’s wrong. His smile looks fake though.

Then before I can ask him anything, Lian walks away, distancing himself from me.

I wonder why.

I feel like he’s trying to avoid me. To avoid any questions I may ask him.

Filled with an indescribable feeling, I sigh as I watch Lian’s figure shrink in the distance.

Meanwhile, Gouda-san continues to stare at the light blue ribbon in his hand, his sobs unceasing. He stumbles forward, as though his legs were made of lead.

After walking toward Gouda-san, Cheddar-san slaps Gouda-san’s back with all his might, eyebrows furrowed. “This brat! Seriously, get a hold of yourself, Gouda! We’re not sure that Mite’s dead yet, ok? Don’t give up until we see her ourselves! If you, her father, is the first to give up, then what about us?!”

Gouda-san sniffles. “You’re right, but… Ughh, I-I understand Brother…”

“Man…” said Cheddar-san. “I heard from my buddy that at the start of last month, a fang rabbit destroyed his potato field, even though they rarely show up around there. An old man also made a racket after catching sight of a red-eyed bird, something people find a symbol of bad luck… And now, bloodclaw bears, which rarely leave their mountain, have appeared. I have a bad feeling about this…” He lets out a sigh, slight worry crossing his face. A rare sight coming from Cheddar-san. “I hope it’s just my imagination.”

Walking behind us with a hoe held to his chest, a villager timidly adds, “Hearing that made me remember something too… A long time ago, back when I was still a kid, my grandma told me, ‘Be careful when the normally quiet demons make a ruckus. That’s a sign of an incoming disaster.’ I wonder whether that’s true…” His soft voice somehow adds to the dark atmosphere of his story.

“H-huh?! Stop that! Don’t say something like that here! Are you trying to scare us?!” yells another villager.

“T-that’s right! That’s just a superstition among the elderly! Just a superstition!” Then the rest of the villagers start pulling his cheeks and hitting his head.

“Ouch! Ouch!! I-I hope you’re right…”

Come to think of it, I’ve heard something like that too. Back in my intermediate magic techniques class.

Demons are susceptible to energy and magic power due to their unique physical constitution. That is, half of their bodies are made up of either magic or ether.

Once an imminent large-scale war starts brewing between two parties, a huge amount of negative emotions, energy, and magic is released into the atmosphere. This results in a change in the demons’ behavior and incites them to go on a rampage.

Just like an omen.

As such, if demons appear in front of us when it’s not within their habits to do so, we have to take extra caution. That’s what the old teacher told us in the midst of laughter.

At that time, I also dismissed it as a superstition since the teacher is an old man, and the elderly tend to cling onto those types of beliefs, but…

I look toward the west.

Beyond the mountains is the large western country. Farther to the west, the large southern country.

Those two countries have been keeping a close and wary eye on each other. Several skirmishes have also broken between them before.

If what that old teacher said is true, then does that mean a huge war is going to break out in the near future?

Judging from the hostile relationship between those two countries, that’s certainly possible.

Nonchalantly, I turn to Lian, but he’s similarly looking toward the west.

The shadows have returned to his face and eyes.

Maybe… since Lian took that same class with me, he remembered that old teacher’s story too.

I grow somewhat curious. So I approach him and ask, “Do you also think that’s just a superstition?”

Lian shoots me a sidelong glance, then smiles, saying, “Who knows?” Following that, he walks away from me again.

Just like what I’ve heard, it’s dark as night on the mountain even though it’s the middle of a hot summer day. I look up. Tree branches and large ivy leaves cover the sky.

Below, the soil is damp and muddy, its surface covered in rocks. The trunks of several rotten trees have also fallen to the ground, stacked upon each other.

And maybe because the mountain is covered with plants and rocks, and the wind is only able to circulate within the mountain, the air here is somewhat fishy and stuffy.

The other distorted branches and ivy leaves obstruct our view, making it extremely hard to properly examine our surroundings.

In such a dark environment, people can lose their way back to the base of the mountain if they’re even a bit careless. However, Lian shows no hesitation and unease in taking the lead, marking the tree trunks we pass by with his knife.

Every once in a while, he stops at what looks to be forks in the path, before eventually stepping between some dark trees, continuing deeper into the mountain.

One time, we encounter a swamp. It spans the entire width of the path ahead of us, so it seems like a dead end, but Lian is neither surprised nor discouraged. Eventually, he manages to find a traversable path underneath several fallen trees and rocks. After this discovery, he calls us, then walks ahead.

In the swamp, we find one of Mite’s small shoes.

While everyone is shaken and frightened by this, Lian picks it up in a calm manner and nods, the picture of confidence.

Along the way, we come across several marks pointing to the previous presence of demons in the area. But in some sort of miracle, we have yet to encounter one.

Maybe it’s thanks to the enchanted necklaces Lian gave everyone before we entered the mountain?

Or just plain dumb luck?

Or… I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it’s like…

How should I say this?

It’s like we’ve been taking detours around any nearby demons.

The people on our team express their praise and admiration for Lian’s overly perfect guiding skills. But all I feel is this inexplicable chaos and unrest filling my chest.

Following Lian’s lead, we arrive at a place halfway up the mountain with incredibly uneven ground. Rotten tree trunks and large, pointy rocks lie scattered everywhere, even tumbling down the slope.

We also spot a cave there.

And inside the cave, in a place where the cliff has partially collapsed and looks to be on the verge of collapsing even further, is a hole. Just large enough for an adult to enter.

Standing in front of the entrance of the cave… are two bloodclaw bears.

They may be belligerent and ferocious demons, but we have more than ten people on our side.

We have Lian and I, prepared and armed to defeat demons, the knights and the escorts, as well as Cheddar-san and Gouda-san, who are experienced in slaying demons with their bare hands. The villagers have their hoes and axes with them, also ready to fight.

The demons pounce at us the moment they see us, but defeating them isn’t a problem for us at all. I even feel somewhat disappointed at how easy the fight is.

Now that we’ve defeated the demons blocking the entrance, we enter the cave to search for Mite.

It’s there that we spot a reddish lump in front of that hole we saw earlier, mostly blocked by rocks and fallen trees.

The red lump smells of iron… Blood.

From afar, it seems to be around the size of a human child. We gulp, a bad feeling arising in our stomachs.

Oh, Lian… Please don’t blame yourself too much… It’s not your fault…

Also, I have an announcement to make! The BL novel I said I was going to translate before has been picked up by someone else~ Thankfully, the current translator is super kind! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ They let me use my translation of chapter 1 and 2 since I already stockpiled to that point~ Thank you again, hasr! It’s about a corporate slave who got transmigrated into another world and worked as an accountant there~ The plot is super interesting, it’s one of the novels I checked every day when it’s still ongoing! The translator looks like they’re committed to this project, so I’m really glad they picked it up. You can read it here.

Bye bye~ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

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